Socios En Salud and its community health program, in order to strengthen the skills and capacities of Community Health Agents (CHAs), conducted a baseline assessment of their knowledge, practices and attitudes about nutrition. With the information obtained, training was carried out to strengthen skills and knowledge on nutrition and food issues in the different stages of life.
The training was provided for two months and was given through theoretical and practical educational sessions, using participatory methodologies to promote the construction of learning, strengthening of skills and empowerment of the CHWs, in an effective manner. The sessions addressed were: food safety, anthropometric measurements, nutritional assessment by life stages, anemia, iron-rich foods and supplementation, non-communicable diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer), risk factors (obesity, overweight, inadequate eating habits), healthy eating and physical activity.
For data collection, the CAP instrument was used, which consists of three surveys (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices), which were adapted by nutritionist Andrea D’Angelo Delgado. In the results of this baseline assessment it was found that 11.1 % of the ACS had a “good” level of knowledge; while 67.7 % were “fair”.
Once the training was completed, the post-test results show that from 33.3 % to 80 % of the ACS have a “good” level of knowledge in the different topics of nutrition and feeding. Being the sessions of food safety and nutritional assessment by stages of life, where they show a great improvement in knowledge, reaching an increase of 50 % and 30 %, respectively at this level.
”It is very important to work with the ACS because they are actors of change in their own communities (…) they have validity, and people trust their words and actions”, mentioned the project coordinator, Diego Portillo Tinoco.
For her part, nutritionist, Andrea D’Angelo, mentions that “ACSs must be trained in different health topics, so that they have tools and knowledge that allow them to transmit messages that strengthen health promotion.”